Game Notes: Wichita State (PDF) | Saint Louis (PDF)

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(-/rv) WICHITA STATE (2-4) vs. SAINT LOUIS (4-2)
Dec. 05, 2015  | 8:00 p.m. CT |  ESPNU
St. Louis, Mo. / Chaifetz Arena (10,600)

Telecast --
On Air: ESPU
Streaming: http://es.pn/1Rd85MY or Watch ESPN App
Announcers: Rich Hollenberg & Mark Adams

Radio --
On Air: KEYN 103.7 FM
Online: goshockers.com/watch
Announcers: Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull

Social Media ---
Twitter: @GoShockers, @GoShockersLive
Facebook: facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics
Instagram: instagram.com/goshockers
Exposure: goshockers.exposure.co
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State (2-4) hits the road Saturday to take on Saint Louis (4-2) in an 8:00 p.m. CT tip on ESPNU.
• The Shockers are trying to shake off a three-game losing streak, their longest since January of 2013 when they fell to Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois consecutively.
• WSU hasn't dropped four-straight in nearly seven years, since enduring a six-game losing streak in Marshall's second season (Dec. 28, 2008 to Jan. 14, 2009).
• If the Shockers are to change their luck, they couldn't have picked a more perfect day. By percentage, Dec. 5 is the winningest date in Shocker history. WSU is 15-3 (.833) all-time heading into Saturday's night.
• Gregg Marshall and SLU coach Jim Crews (who spent 17 years at Evansville) have a combined 824 career wins and both rank in the top-50 among active coaches. Crews enters the week at 424-385 (43rd), and Marshall is 400-163 (49th).

LAST WEEK
A shorthanded WSU went 0-3 at the AdvoCare Invitational last week, falling to USC (69-72), Alabama (60-64) and Iowa (61-84). The Shockers grabbed 52 offensive rebounds over the three games (19 vs. USC, 19 vs. Alabama and 14 vs. Iowa) but weren't able to take advantage, shooting just 34 percent.

Top Performers:
>> Ron Baker (6-4, R-Sr., Scott City, Kan.) --
Topped 20 points twice, highlighted by a 25-point performance against USC in which he matched his career-high with six three-pointers. In three AdvoCare Invitational games, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds.
>> Markis McDuffie (6-8, Fr., Paterson, N.J.)
Had a breakout week in Florida. After collecting just five points (all on free throws) in the Shockers' first three regular season games, McDuffie was provided a huge scoring lift for the Shockers, averaging 12.3 points, 3.7 boards and 2.0 steals. He went 6-of-11 from three-point range and 5-of-6 out the foul line.

THE SERIES WITH SAINT LOUIS
• This is the third of a four-game series between the schools. Saint Louis returns to Wichita in 2016.
• The Shockers took the first two contests, including a 70-65 decision in 2013-14 that would turn out to be one of the most difficult wins in their 35-0 start. While SLU was unranked at the time, the Billikens eventually moved into the top-10 and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Ron Baker is averaging 20.0 points in two career meetings with the Billikens (both wins) on 77 percent shooting from the field (13-of-17, 5-of-7 from three).
• The Shockers won 81-52 last year at INTRUST Bank Arena in downtown Wichita behind 15 points each from Evan Wessel and Rauno Nurger and 18 from Ron Baker.
• SLU leads the all-time series between the two former MVC rivals, 41-21, thanks to a dominant stretch in the 1940s and 50s. The Billikens won 27 of the first 31 matchups between 1936 and 1960, including 15 of 16 on their home floor.
 
BOOKENDS ON THE SHELF
Starters Fred VanVleet (hamstring) and Anton Grady (spinal concussion) and key reserve Landry Shamet (stress fracture) all sat out the Iowa game with injuries. Another potential difference-marker, Kansas transfer Conner Frankamp, is not eligible to compete until the end of the semester.

SEVEN-YEAR HITCH
The Shockers dropped under the .500 mark last Friday for the first time since February of 2009 (a span of 2,473 days, or just over six years and nine months). With four losses in their last five games, they're in the midst of their worst stretch since January of 2009 when the opened MVC play at 0-6… Immediately after, the 2008-09 Shockers rallied to win 9 of their next 12, finishing 8-10 in conference, 17-17 overall, and advancing to the CBI quarterfinals… That 0-6 MVC start was a decided turning point in the Gregg Marshall Era. The Shockers are 189-49 (.794) since that moment.

VANVLEET UPDATE
VanVleet is nearing a return but is still considered day-to-day with a strained hamstring… He appeared in 112-straight games to begin his Shocker career before missing the last four. The injury also snapped a run of 73-consecutive starts, dating back to the beginning of his sophomore season… The All-American point guard first injured the hamstring during the preseason but had attempted to play through it. Coaches elected to give him some extended rest after he aggravated the injury early in the Nov. 17 loss at Tulsa... He's played just two games and 33 minutes total this year.

SURGERY FOR SHAMET
Landry Shamet underwent surgery on Nov. 25 to repair a fifth metatarsal stress fracture in his left foot and could be out as long as 12 weeks (mid-February) while recovering. Shamet has drawn comparisons to the freshman version of Ron Baker and immediately became a vital rotation piece. Unfortunately, he's taken the Baker comps a little too far, suffering the very same stress fracture injury that cost Baker 10 weeks during his own debut season... Shamet averaged 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 19.7 minutes through the first three contests with five steals.

GRADY IMPROVING
Anton Grady was able to walk without the aid of crutches Tuesday and continues to make gradual progress after suffering a spinal cord concussion during last Friday's game against Alabama in the AdvoCare Invitational. Doctors will continue to evaluate his progress before discussing a possible return to the court.

The senior forward's chin collided with an opposing player as he turned to run up the court, causing his head to rotate quickly to one side. He fell facedown on the floor, unable to move his arms and legs, and was taken off on a stretcher before being transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for evaluation.

Grady was alert throughout and had feeling in his extremities. X-Rays, MRI and CT scans all revealed no structural damage and, over the next 48 hours, Grady slowly regained motor function. By Sunday he was able to walk with the help of crutches, and doctors released him in time for the team's return flight to Wichita later that evening.

SHEDDING THE SHIRT
Plans to redshirt 6-foot-10 sophomore Rauno Nurger were scrapped with the injury to Grady. Nurger appeared in 24 games off the bench as a freshman, averaging 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds. After sitting the first five games of this season, he made his debut on Sunday against Iowa and played nine minutes.

YOUNGSTERS STEPPING UP
In Sunday's AdvoCare Invitational game against Iowa, each of WSU's top three scorers came from off the bench. All 20 points in the Shockers' 20-4 second-half run were contributed by underclassmen. Through six games, WSU has used nine different starters.

BULL IN A CHINA SHOP
Gregg Marshall calls talented 6-8 freshman forward Eric Hamilton a "bull in a china shop."  The energetic and springy Hamilton  has a nice shooting touch and is a relentless rebounder who is constantly plowing into teammates during practice. He won the slam dunk contest at WSU's Shocker Madness scrimmage by dunking over the school's mascot, WuShock, and later a team manager. He's also done damage in games against Iowa (team-high 14 points, 5 rebounds in 17 minutes) and Charleston Southern (13 pts, 7 reb in 15 minutes).

SIMON SURPRISES
Walk-on junior point guard John Robert Simon has been pressed into action in some key moments but has performed admirably. In the AdvoCare Invitational, he tallied 18 minutes over three games. He drilled a trey moments after checking into the game against USC and played a career-high 11 minutes on Nov. 29 against Iowa.

DON'T FORGET FRANKAMP
WSU will add another key piece next week when sophomore guard Conner Frankamp makes his debut. Frankamp - a Wichita high school standout who broke Perry Ellis' City League career scoring record with 2,275 points- arrived last January after transferring from Kansas. He is eligible to compete as soon as Fall grades are posted. Depending on the speed of that process, he'll debut against either UNLV (Wednesday) or Utah (Saturday).

POLL WATCH
WSU received two votes in the Coaches Poll and none in the AP version, a week after being ranked No. 20 in both and two weeks removed from a No. 9 AP ranking. The Shockers' run of 42-straight weeks in the AP Poll came to an end, snapping the nation's fourth-longest streak.

BAKER AND VANVLEET NAMED TO NAISMITH WATCH LIST
Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet are included on the Naismith Trophy Watch List 50, released Wednesday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club... The list will be cut down to 30 on Feb. 11, 2016 with the 10 semifinalists released on March 2 and four finalists on March 20. The winner will be announced during Final Four weekend...
Both Shockers made the 50-man watch list in 2014-15. Baker was later named to the Midseason 30. VanVleet was a semifinalist for the honor in 2013-14.

9 TIMES 10
In just six games, WSU has already had nine different players score at least 10 points, and it could push that total even higher by the end of the season, with Evan Wessel, Bush Wamukota and Rauno Nurger still chasing their first 10-point games and transfer Conner Frankamp set to make his debut next week.

Double-Digit Scoring Games in 2015-16
Ron Baker - 5
Anton Grady - 2
Eric Hamilton - 2
Markis McDuffie - 2
Fred VanVleet - 1
Landry Shamet - 1
Ty Taylor II - 1
Shaquille Morris - 1
Zach Brown - 1

The 2014-15 team had nine players reach double-figures at least once. The 2012-13 Final Four team had 11, and the 2010-11 NIT champions had 10. The 1998-99 and 1999-2000 (10 each) teams are the only others to reach 10 or more in the last 20 years.

VANVLEET AMONG THE NCAA'S ACTIVE LEADERS

Fred VanVleet ranks second among active Division I players in career assist-to-turnover ratio (minimum 400 assists).

Player, School -- Assists-Turnovers (Ratio)
James Robinson, Pittsburgh -- 461 - 137 (3.36)
Fred VanVleet, WSU -- 469-153 (3.07)
Jalan West, Northwestern State -- 614-236 (2.60)
Alex Young, UC Irvine -- 447-180 (2.48)
Kahil Fielder, Oakland -- 401-177 (2.27)

BAKER OFF TO A SIZZLING START
Ron Baker has been strong out of the gate leading the team in scoring in five of the team's first six contests. He needs 25 more points to catch Gus Santos for 21st on the school's all-time scoring list is 42 points shy of cracking the top-20.

WSU Rank, Player (Years) -- Career Points
19. Warren Armstrong (1965-68) -- 1,301
20. Joe Stevens (1955-58) -- 1,295
21. Gus Santos (1987-91) -- 1,278    1,278
22. Ron Baker (2012-16) -- 1,253
23. Paul Guffrovich (1987-91) -- 1,247

OTHER MILESTONES TO WATCH
• With his three-point flurry at Tulsa (three treys in the final 1:17 of the first half), VanVleet became the just the 22nd Shocker in to reach the 100-mark for his career. He enters the week with 101, tied with John Cooper (1987-91) on the all-time list.
• VanVleet (469 career assists) is 31 away from 500. He's already WSU's all-time leader and is looking to become just the 15th in Missouri Valley Conference history to reach the 500-mark.
• Baker's next steal will put him in the top-10 on WSU's all-time list. His 118 is one shy of KC Hunt (119, 1990-94) for 10th and two behind Robert George (120, 1990-92).
• Baker needs seven more three-pointer to become just the third Shocker to reach 200 for his career. He's chasing Sean Ogirri (200; 2004-07) and Randy Burns (245; 2001-05) for the